Apprentice Buyer in Manchester

NG Bailey is offering an exciting opportunity to join our Engineering procurement team as an Apprentice Buyer. You will support the delivery of mechanical and electrical building services projects, from commercial offices to complex infrastructure and energy projects. During your apprenticeship, you will learn how to support the procurement and supply chain activities for major mechanical and electrical projects.

Responsibilities

• Assisting with the purchase of materials, equipment and services
• Helping to ensure materials are ordered, delivered and available on site in line with project programmes
• Working closely with site teams to support smooth logistics and project progress
• Supporting cost tracking, forecasting and basic project reporting
• Assisting with supplier and contract administration
• Helping monitor supplier performance against agreed KPIs such as cost, quality and delivery
• Supporting the management of commercial agreements, including tracking any agreed rebates, cost recoveries or savings agreements
• Using systems and spreadsheets to support buying and commercial decisions
• Attending supplier meetings, supply chain engagement events and performance reviews, helping build strong, collaborative relationships across the supply chain
• Interpret business requirements by assessing the demand for the product or service
• Undertake market analysis to establish potential routes to market
• Conduct benchmarking to evaluate costs against industry standards
• Prepare or contribute to the drafting of a sourcing plan which meets business needs, including corporate social responsibility factors
• Use the organisation's documentation designed for commercial procurement processes for the supply of goods and services
• Notify potential suppliers of proposal requirements
• Use selection and award criteria to source requirements from external suppliers evidencing how supplier bids are evaluated against them
• Analyse the financial implications of decisions and identify cost-saving opportunities
• Liaise and negotiate with suppliers and stakeholders to ensure the timely delivery of purchased goods and services
• Support contract award and briefing of suppliers in line with the organisation's processes and governance
• Monitor and manage contract performance to meet time, costs, service, and quality objectives
• Maintain contract documentation such as change control, version control
• Use IT and software to produce spreadsheets and presentation packages to communicate information
• Identify, raise, and facilitate discussions with stakeholders to resolve any issues or risks
• Analyses sustainability challenges and risks at each stage of the product or contract life cycle
• Manage information in accordance with policy and processes
• Continuously review work processes to identify and eliminate inefficiencies and simplify workflow
• Use available systems and tools to identify relevant data
• Interpret, analyse, and evaluate data through questioning to drive actionable intelligence and support decision making
• Use horizon scanning to identify future changes in procurement and contracting

Training and qualifications

• Training schedule: You will train at one of the top performing colleges or training providers in the country
• You will work towards CIPS membership
• Block release at college
• You will regularly attend in house training and development as part of the programme
• GCSE in: English (grade C/4 or above), Maths (grade C/4 or above), Science (grade C/4 or above), Other (grade C/4 or above)
• A Level in STEM (grade C or above)

Other requirements

• Communication skills
• Attention to detail
• Organisation skills
• Problem solving skills
• Number skills
• Analytical skills
• Logical
• Team working
• Initiative
• Excellent timekeeping
• Are keen to learn
• Safety Conscious
• Work indoors and outdoors
• Be prepared for early starts and travel away from home when necessary

NG Bailey is the UK's leading independent engineering and services business. Our vision is 'to be the best - creating exceptional environments for present and future generations'. We work across a variety of sectors within the building and infrastructure industry, and our innovative, responsible and forward-thinking approach allows us to work on fantastic ground-breaking projects. Our company has two divisions, Engineering and Services, which together we bring buildings and infrastructure to life.